Open AccessCarbonate reefs may have triggered a bout of global cooling
Author(s) -
Schultz Colin
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/2011eo400013
Subject(s) - carbon dioxide , carbon dioxide in earth's atmosphere , climate change , ocean acidification , reef , environmental science , carbonate , latitude , global warming , climatology , atmospheric sciences , global cooling , glacier , period (music) , oceanography , geology , physical geography , ecology , geography , chemistry , biology , physics , organic chemistry , geodesy , acoustics
Earth's history shows a steady stream of extreme climatic change, spanning everything from planet‐engulfing glaciers to tropical conditions near high latitudes. These large climate shifts are often attributed to permanent changes: the opening of a new waterway, the evolution of photosynthesizing plants, or massive bouts of erosion. Punctuating each long stretch of roughly steady climate are smaller transient shifts in environmental conditions commonly associated with changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration. Yet the initial change in the climate system that led to the shift in carbon dioxide concentration for each period often remains unknown.